At Most Only 3 Million iPhone X’s will be Sold When Launched

Millions of people were eagerly waiting for the launch of the iPhone X and there was a lot of excitement as some of them hoped they would be among the first to get hold of the new gadget from Apple. But as it appears, this dream was cut short by a revelation made about the release of the iPhone X that suggests only three million would be sold at the launch of the phone. This basically means the phone will not be in supply across all regions at the same time. Only about 3 million units were shipped from the factory for the November 3 launch with the rest of the markets confined to a later date that was not revealed.

Issues with part supplier

One of the reasons cited as to cause this scarcity is the fact that Murata, a supplier who had been assigned a contract to provide iPhone X antenna circuit boards, did not make the part according to the specifications Apple had provided and so there had to be a replacement that saw a new supplier, Career Tech, take over. In addition to this challenge, the company suffered challenges sourcing a wide-angle camera module, but this did not stop them from doing some units that would be used to facilitate the launch. However, not many are happy with this approach as in the last launch different markets across the world were served with units.

A disappointment to fans

Apple fans who have all along been waiting for the iPhone X were disappointed to realize they could not have one immediately after launch. To get it you would be lucky as only those who had pre-orders that were set to arrive on 3rd November were considered first, so many of those who queued to get their iPhone X on that day went home disappointed as the stock available was not enough to serve everyone.

The popular formula for getting the phone on the day it lunches did not work this year and almost no carrier stores had the phone in stock. Apple made a departure from the common launch procedure in which generally there is widespread availability of the phones across carrier stores during the day the phone is launched. Pre-orders cleared in minutes and now wait time remains at around four weeks until everyone else gets the phone.

Production choke points

According to a report released by Nikkei Asian Review, only 46,500 units came from Foxconn’s factory for the first batch. This pointed to serious production choke points that would need to be addressed to satisfy the booming demand in the market, and immediately after the launch Apple COO Jeff Williams said he would have to meet Terry Gou, the Chairman of Foxconn, to discuss the production choke points. Many of the customers who lined up for the launch were sent home empty-handed. And this was occasioned largely by the bottlenecks that were ailing different essential parts required in the development of the phones. Compared with the past launch numbers, 2017 would be the lowest since 2010.

In 2015, Apple launched the iPhone with 13 million units while in 2014 the company offered 10 million on the launch day. There has been a continuous increase in numbers since the phone was first launched, but with the 2017 model, this trend was disrupted by the sudden slump in supply on the launch day.

Demand has never been a problem for Apple as the biggest factor that has been defending the sales of the company, especially at a time where we are heading to a holiday season, is supply, and it is not at its best. However, the company is working hard to see that before the festivities kick off they have more phones in the market, and this might probably topple the narrative that the company is not likely to perform as well as it did in 2015.

The delay might affect the stocks of the company as people hold on in apprehension. It is a shift that deviates from normalcy and as usual market forces readjust in a turbulent wave that affects investors most. But come the first quarter of 2018, the iPhone X is expected to peak its supplies and definitely sales.

About the Author

Noelle Neff is a professional photographer covering niche markets. She graduated from the University of Miami and is based in the same city. Noelle Neff is also a renowned blogger on topics such as photography and travel. You can also find some of her shots at various online stock photo sites.